Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 80-

Day: 98

Days Left: 5382

Lives Saved: 0

The night seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Huddled in bed under the covers, both Corinna and Harmony had laid very still and silent on either edge of the mattress, separated. Outside, rain pummelled onto the roof like bullets. The storm still continued even when morning came around.

Harmony had been the first one to wake up and had immediately gone down into the basement. After a while of staring at the wall vacantly, unable to go back to sleep, Corinna too got up out of bed.

She retrieved her rucksack and started packing her clothes, hesitating at first as she considered giving them back to Harmony. After a moment of thinking, Corinna packed only a set of pyjamas. Then, her eyes were brought to the attention of something on the kitchen counter. Unfolding it, she discovered that it was her white dress, the one that she had worn when she arrived in The Eternal Abyss. One side had torn from where Harmony's talons had clung onto her during the storm, along with small minor tears from the imps. All of them had been stitched and repaired along with the bloodstains washed out into a faded rose pink. Corinna traced the stitches with her fingers gently, wondering how difficult it must have been for Harmony to sew with her paws. After staring down at the dress for a long moment, she finally packed it into her bag.

Then, she heard a dripping sound. There were multiple leaks in the ceiling. Water droplets splashed onto the floor in tiny splats. Corinna gazed at them absent-mindedly, watching them fall near her feet. She looked up, wondering if she should fix it before leaving, then dismissed it as Harmony would be escaping any day now without her presence. Besides, the chimaera would just spend the majority of her time in the basement instead of on the surface.

The basement door squeaked open, and Harmony climbed up the ladder. She trudged over to her satchel on her armchair without even looking at Corinna.

"Are you going to go out in this weather?" asked the young woman.

Harmony did not respond for a moment, but eventually answered, "yeah." She glanced back at Corinna, her head bowed slightly, eyes darting around, unable to focus on one subject. "They usually open portals during rough weather. You remember how we met..." Her voice trailed away as she clipped her satchel onto her belt.

Corinna was about to object about the danger but stopped herself. Just like Salim had said, it was impossible to dissuade Harmony from escaping. The only thing she had left was the hope that she would be strong enough in her chimaera form to fight off the guards on the other side.

Biting down on her lip, Corinna said, "good luck."

Harmony turned around, gazing back at the young woman, then nodded. "Thank you."

"I'm going to stay here until the storm recedes," explained Corinna. "Then I'll head off to Ivette's."

Harmony nodded again, then saw the pile of clothes that Corinna had decided not to pack. "They're yours to take... if you want," she mumbled.

"Oh. Thank you." Corinna returned the sentiment with a weak smile, all the while nursing her sore throat by swallowing down saliva.

With neither knowing not what to say, Harmony waved a feeble goodbye and exited the house. The door swung open by the storm, a gust of wind so strong that Corinna struggled to close it and was forced to see Harmony's figure get smaller in the distance. Eventually, she managed to bolt it and keep it shut by using the bookcase.

Waiting for the storm to die out, Corinna worked more on her memory notebook, rereading past sections to see what she could still remember. Her eyes looked up from her book to the dripping ceiling. Perhaps she should fix it. Maybe not now as it would be unsafe to be on the roof but on a later day.

Time passed, and the storm outside remained ever vigilant. Never before had it lasted so long. Waking up from her doze, Corinna looked at the ticking clock on the kitchen unit, one of the several dozens Harmony had collected and stored in the basement. It was evening, and the chimaera had not returned.

Corinna dismissed her worries and concerns as Harmony had on occasion waited on the tower for longer but never when there was a storm.

Perhaps she had already escaped? No. Then she would have seen the light of the portal through all of the darkness. Harmony was still out there.

Donning her coat and grabbing her spear, Corinna shoved the bookcase aside and opened the door. The wind pushed her back inside, but she persisted, clinging to the walls to hurl herself out.

Outside it was dark and cold. The sand swirled in a torrent of fury, blinding Corinna but she endured having memorised the route without the need for sight. Rain pelted down, and her dress was reduced to a heavy water-logged material that weighed down her body. Fortunately, the wind now aided her, propelling her across the dunes.

With the tower in sight, Corinna saw the glowing green light of the wisp circling around a tall figure on top of the summit. Harmony clung onto the rock on her hands and knees, the metal harness and bridge rattling and clattering in the wind.

"Harmony!" Corinna screamed, seeing the cracks in the spire spread and scatter upwards. "Harmony!"

The tower creaked and crumbled. It shook and swayed backwards.

"Harmony!"

Corinna froze, unable to breathe, witnessing the tower collapsed into the sea with a thunderous splash taking Harmony along with it.